The medical field and the science world are put in the lime light ever since the COVID-19 outbreak started. But alongside with these comes the flooding of fake news and conspiracy theories especially in the social media. The proliferation of these post-truth era propaganda continues because many people embrace it and ignorantly spread it.

            But this is not just a problem of spreading fake news and ignorance to the truth. It goes deeper to the way science were taught to us. Our curriculum and instructions are solely based on the content and standardize test mastery. We were trained to keep looking for the answer. This educational trend alienated many people to what science literacy is.

            Science literacy is a crucial skill that should be taught at an early age. Strangely enough, Science is always paired with common sense. Teaching ideas like matter is made of atom or cell is the basic unit of life is only targeting the rational side of our mind. But this is not enough. One should also be trained to observe and collect data for themselves. That is why experiments and hands on activities are encouraged because students need to learn how to learn on their own and not just mere receiving knowledge. This is the reason why people tend to fall easily on fake news because they are used to receiving and finding answers only.

            Many educational theorists have long argued the idea knowledge could somehow be “transferred” from teachers and textbooks to students is untenable. The students will still interpret the taught content through a conceptual framework of prior knowledge and beliefs. Scientific theories are built on evidence while processing it through arguments.

            We are therefore encouraged to train our students how to ask questions and not just to find answers. It is crucial for students to have science literacy where in they will evaluate the source of information and decide whether it is a fake news of not.

By: Jordan Dela Cruz | Teacher III | Boton Elementary School